Carl Louis Alfred Traugott Lämmerhirt (; 21 April 1839 – 10 July 1899) was a German industrialist, engineer and founding member of

Westfalia Dinnendahl Gröppel Westfalia is the designation of various specially converted Volkswagen Volkswagen Westfalia Campers, camper vans. It is named after Westfalia-Werke, the contractor that built the vans, which is headquartered in the town of Rheda-Wiedenbrück, loca ...

, initially based in

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

. He was the father-in-law of

Hugo Siepmann Richard Hugo Siepmann known as Hugo Siepmann (; May 24, 1868 – October 4, 1950) was a German industrialist and Patronage, patron. He was a member of the Siepmann, Siepmann industrial family, originally hailing from Hagen, Hagen, Germany, known ...

and Robert Fricke.

Early life and education

Lämmerhirt was born 21 April 1839 in

Stolberg (Harz) is a town (sometimes itself called 'Harz' in historical references) and a former municipality in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the southern part of the Harz mountains, about ...

, Kingdom of Prussia (presently Germany), the eldest of six children, to Christian Lämmerhirt, a district court secretary and later vice mayor of Suhl, and Karoline Lisette (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Steher). He completed the

Real school ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

whilst living with a great-uncle in

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: * Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district **Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city * Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost ...

due to the provincial location of his hometown and limited educational possibilities. After he completed a technical apprenticeship in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...

, he decided to become an engineer. He enrolled and studied mechanical engineering at the

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

where he belonged to the Fidelitas

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

Career

After his graduation, he initially worked as stoker/fireman, for the Cologne-Minden Railway Company, followed by employment as engineer for the Bochumer Verein (a large coal and steel concern) in

. In 1872, Lämmerhirt and two other engineers, formed Lämmerhirt, Brandenburg & Co, a mining machinery factory. Due to failing liquidity the company was sold to investors in 1874. He then initially was an engineer and later general director for ''Mülheimer Maschinenfabrik und Eisengießerei'' ( English: ''Mülheim Machinery Factory and Steel Foundry'') which would later become Thyssen & Co. By the end of August 1876, Lämmerhirt relocated his family to Winterthur, Switzerland, where he found employment as general director for the ''Winterthurer Gusswarenfabrik'' ( English: ''Winterthur Casting Factory''), part of

Sulzer Brothers Sulzer Ltd. is a Swiss industrial engineering and manufacturing firm, founded by Salomon Sulzer-Bernet in 1775 and established as Sulzer Brothers Ltd. (Gebrüder Sulzer) in 1834 in Winterthur, Switzerland. Today it is a publicly traded company w ...

. He was deployed for one year to Berlin in 1878/79 before returning to Switzerland. Between 1879 and 1883, he was a lead engineer at Bureau Fritz Marti in Winterthur which was involved in building the

Gotthard Tunnel , it, Galleria del San Gottardo , other_name = , line = Gotthard Line , location = Traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the middle of the Swiss Alps , coordinates = , os_grid_ref = , status = , system ...

(one of his most notable works). In 1883, he relocated to Warstein in Westphalia, taking up position as the director for the Warstein mines and smelting association, where he remained until his death in 1899 aged 60.

Personal life

On 7 April 1869, Lämmerhirt married Emilie Louise Schmiedt (1843-1910). They had eight children; * Carl August Christian (1870-1870) * Fritz Hugo August, colloquially Fritz (1870-1960),

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

of the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

, married Emilia Gutschow of

Berlin-Wannsee Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger ''Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee, "See" means lake) and the ...

, no issue * Franz Edgar Rudolph, colloquially Rudolph (1873-1935), vice president at

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

.Archiv der Fa. Krupp in Essen He was married to Martha Wenker, likely of the Wenker brewing family. * Paula Bertha Anna, colloquially Paula (1874-1945) * Luise Emilie Johanna, colloquially Luise (1876-1962), married

, co-owner of

Siepmann The Siepmann family () is an over 200-year-old entrepreneurial dynasty originally from Hagen notable for their activities in the North Rhine-Westphalian coal, steel, ammunition, armaments industry as well as important supplier to the automotive, ...

, in Warstein. * Emilie Anna Elisabeth, colloquially Emmy (1877-1952), married to Robert Fricke in Bad Harzburg, no issue * Elisabeth Julie Adolphine, colloquially Else (1881-?) * Carl Alfred (1882-1890), born in Winterthur, Switzerland, died in Warstein Lämmerhirt died 10 July 1899 in Frankfurt on Main aged 60 from chest cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lämmerhirt, Alfred 1839 births 1899 deaths German businesspeople People from Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni German engineers German company founders